 Constructing a complex of contagion: The perceptions of AIDS among working prostitutes in Costa RicaPamela J. Downe Social Science & Medicine, 1997, vol. 44, issue 10, 1575-1583 Abstract: This paper explores the perceptions of HIV/AIDS held by a group of women working as prostitutes in San José, Costa Rica. Adopting the theoretical perspective of critical medical anthropology, the analysis of the prostitutes' constructions of HIV/AIDS is linked to the political and historical context of power that constitutes a medical cultural hegemony. The way in which the research participants associate threats of HIV/AIDS with violence to create a complex of contagion that both perpetuates and challenges the hegemonic model of disease is discussed. Specifically, biomedicine's designation of the prostitute as the "vector" of disease is contrasted with the position that the prostitutes create for themselves. Through a critical analysis of this complex of contagion, oppressive power structures come into sharp focus. Keywords: Costa; Rica; contagion; prostitute; HIV/AIDS; violence (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:socmed:v:44:y:1997:i:10:p:1575-1583 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from Access Statistics for this article Social Science & Medicine is currently edited by Ichiro (I.) Kawachi and S.V. (S.V.) Subramanian More articles in Social Science & Medicine from Elsevier |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.